Mewing

A month had passed in the blink of an eye since Harry had moved to the small bedroom on the second floor. Harry felt that this was his busiest holiday yet.

Sure, in previous holidays, he'd spent a lot of effort and time playing "Catch Harry" with Dudley and his friends. But compared to this holiday, the physical exertion and time consumption of those days seemed worthless.

Unlike before, he was enjoying this time. Cleaning the house every day, practicing magic control, and reading interesting magic books—there was nothing more fulfilling than this.

However, unlike Harry's contentment, Felix felt that more than a month was too long and too painful.

The reason being, he had stumbled upon some stories about Merlin in "Modern History of Magic", which introduced the "Jehovah of Wizards" as an Animagus—a wizard capable of transforming into various animals.

This spell caught Felix's immediate attention.

It wasn't that he couldn't transform into an animal; it was either a mere "transformation technique" used for deception, or he could transform into an animal through the alteration of his own human body.

The record about Merlin in the book described how he turned into a germ and entered Mrs. Mim's body, attacking and defeating her while she was in the form of a fire dragon.

This body-changing magic seemed to present opportunities for Felix, especially considering his current predicament. Transforming his head into that of a cat had significantly weakened him, which distressed him greatly. Yet, this magic hinted at a way to turn the tide.

Though the book stated that each Animagus could only transform into one type of animal, that didn't seem to be the case with Merlin. In the world of magic, absolutes were few and far between.

After inquiring about the operation methods and deducing based on potion theory, Felix began to experiment.

The first step was to hold a mandrake leaf in his mouth from one full moon to the next without swallowing or spitting it out. If the leaf left his mouth at any point, the process would restart.

So, for the past month, he had refrained from speaking much.

But tonight, he was finally free.

Tonight was the full moon!

As the night darkened, the sky filled with stars by eight o'clock. Meanwhile, Harry was practicing magic control under the moonlight. He no longer used dummies as targets but instead aimed to master the technique of channeling magic power.

Now, he was attempting to ignite the confetti in the brazier before him.

With a clear goal and specific direction, he focused solely on casting.

"Burn it!" Harry's hand shot up sharply, his gaze fixed on the brazier.

Though the language felt somewhat awkward, it served as effective subjective guidance.

A spark ignited among the scraps of paper in the brazier, bringing a brief moment of joy to Harry. However, it flickered out almost instantly.

"Come on—ignite!" Harry growled again, veins popping on his forehead as he concentrated on the scraps of paper.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the paper, akin to an overheated pot bursting into flames.

"I did it!" Harry exclaimed in disbelief, watching the flames flicker weakly under the mountain wind.

Click—

The door creaked open, and Harry turned to see Felix stepping out. "Uncle Felix, I did it!" Harry exclaimed eagerly.

Felix glanced at the flames and nodded approvingly, "Impressive."

Harry was momentarily stunned. When was the last time he had heard Felix speak?

(Translation note: 🤫🧏, byebye, it's over for harry, negative canthal tilt, prey eyes, etc )

It felt like ages ago.

He still remembered that on the third day after he moved to the second floor, Felix suddenly stopped talking.

When he asked why, Felix simply opened a book and showed him the first step of the Animagus magic practice.

It turned out that Felix had to put mandrake leaves in his mouth, rendering him unable to speak.

Since then, Harry had never heard Felix's voice again.

In fact, Harry secretly tried speaking with leaves in his mouth and found that he could still talk—albeit with a muffled voice.

But he had a big tongue.

So Harry guessed that Felix felt his large tongue would compromise his suave image, so he chose not to speak.

If this child weren't smart, Felix would find out, and he'd be punished.

"Uncle Felix, can you talk now?!" Harry asked excitedly.

Felix nodded, gazing at the moon in the sky. The summer evening breeze made the weather refreshing. The bright full moon hung in the sky, casting its brilliance upon the world without hesitation.

Felix removed the mandrake from his mouth and placed it into a small transparent glass bottle. Then he added a teaspoon of collected dew and the pupa of a ghost-faced hawkmoth.

Finally, he added a hair of his own—well, technically, it was a beard.

He had no hair now.

Initially, he intended to use hair, but his facial hair was thick and abundant, so he settled on a beard, as it was conceptually similar to hair on the human body.

After completing these steps, Felix recalled the subsequent details and decided to conceal the potion in a dark and secluded place, away from his residence and prying eyes, ensuring it remained untouched by sunlight.

Felix already had plans in mind for this. He reached into the roots of the redwood trees next to the castle and heard the sound of wood breaking, revealing a large hole.

This was a remote spot, and the potion could absorb natural energy autonomously. Thanks to the redwood trees and the hole, sunlight couldn't penetrate.

After placing the small bottle in its spot, he sealed the hole and then took out his wand to set up a defensive barrier to prevent any mishaps.

He didn't want to endure another month of having a blade of grass in his mouth.

Felix performed these actions without avoiding Harry's presence. As Harry approached with a serious expression, he asked, "Uncle Felix, is this Animagus? It seems like a type of magic, but it feels more like potion-making."

Felix nodded and replied, "Animagus is indeed a sophisticated form of magic that blends potions and transformation. Don't be surprised—magic manifests in various ways. Remember what I mentioned in Knockturn Alley a month ago?"

Harry pondered for a moment and then blurted out, "You said they were all rubbish."

Felix shook his head and corrected, "No, not that. It's about magic."

Harry thought for a moment, and then it clicked. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "You said they still use 'waves' to express magic. It's all rubbish!"

Felix nodded, ruffling Harry's hair. "Exactly. Remember, magic has diverse expressions. Don't become someone who only makes waves in the future."